UAE Team Emirates double in Suisse and Slovenia

Ulissi takes first 2018 win, Consonni his first in the pros

Within minutes of each other, UAE Team Emirates celebrates twice.

Diego Ulissi took control of the fifth stage of the Tour de Suisse, winning on the uphill in Leukerbad ahead of a small group of 15 riders. From 300 metres out, he charged and won for the 30th time in his career – his first in 2018.

Enric Mas (Quick-Step Floors) placed second and Tom-Jelte Slagter (Dimension Data) third. Ulissi (photo Bettini) moved up the overall, sitting now in eighth at 40 seconds from the new race leader Richie Porte (BMC Racing).

“Today’s win carries much weight, the Tour de Suisse is a prestigious race and it makes me proud to win here” Ulissi said. “I was able to come out of the Giro d’Italia with good condition, I remained concentrated knowing that in Switzerland I’d have stages suited to my characteristics. The stage today was one of those, and I pulled it off.The race was hard, in the end, I was worried about not catching Mikel Landa, who shot out quite early, but luckily, I closed in on him and kept my speed.I’m going to try to keep fighting all the way through the end of the Tour de Suisse given that on the climbs I feel good and in the time trial I can defend myself”.

Simone Consonni sprinted perfectly to earn his first professional win.

The 23-year-old Italian sprinter took charge of the first stage of the Tour of Slovenia, from Lendava to Murska Sabota, 159 km. He avoided two crashes in the last kilometre and topped Matteo Pelucchi (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Niccolò Bonifazio (Bahrain-Merida) on the line.

“What joy, finally! I was waiting for this moment for some time” Consonni (photo Champion System) said. “I was talking with my girlfriend before leaving to this race, that I miss the feeling that you get only when you cross the line first.
I knew that I could do it, it was only a question of time. I want to thank the UAE Team Emirates staff and teammates to have helped me and gave me the possibility to play my hand.

Today was hard and I was lucky. There are high-level sprinters here, from the WorldTour, even if this is not a top race. This morning, looking at the sprinters on the line, I was impressed and I knew that I felt good. I was smart in the sprint, I preferred not to hold my spot at all costs in the last curve. Everyone was there, but I was able to keep my speed through the curve that served to launch myself in the final metres. I was using Bonifazio and Pelucchi as my reference point, and I passed them.
Now I just want to live in this moment, and enjoy all I can the victory“.